Website Review

[r_barlow]

Hey,

Check out my companys site at http://www.controlgrips.com and give any suggestions you have.

I'm not completely happy with it, especially with the flash menu but that was one of the things the client said had to be there. If the design was up to me it would be a lot slicker with smaller font but once again the client pushed for the larger feel.

I think overall it looks too unprofessional so I'm looking for suggestions on how to fix that.

Thanks!

[KDLA]

I've not seen a CSS layout made to look like a table layout before. :p

I agree with your comments. Here are a few suggestions:

- The "tables look" may be part of the unprofessional appearance. There's no flow, each section is severly compartmentalized.
- The "Welcome!" and "What's New" sections aren't really needed. These seem to be unnecessary bragging.
- The menu can be achieved with CSS and a little javascript - excepting the bouncing arrows. (http://www.htmldog.com/articles/suckerfish/dropdowns/)
- The catalog isn't in HTML format, and there isn't a way to order items online. When people visit a merchant online, they want to buy online -- not print out a huge PDF file.

These are just cursory observations. Really, I think it's partly the client's fault. There doesn't see to be a "reason" for the website, other than "just to have one."

Good Luck & Keep working at it --
KDLA

[r_barlow]

The main purpose of the site is for marketing purposes because we have a lot of different products.. hence all the pictures of the different ones. I would have loved to make an online ordering system but how we price things would make it extremely difficult.

Yes I agree about the table format that we have going on. The "compartment" section look is what the client wanted... haha I know its a little contradictory to make it with CSS layout but I wanted to learn this new technique since from what I heard using tables for layout is dying.

Do you have any suggestions that would help make it "flow" better.. perhaps some good examples? This is just the initial crack at it and the client says he is open for suggestions.

Thanks for your opinions + suggestions!

[AnotherDesigner]

The site to me looks like one of these computer game forum sites that is aimed at the teenage market, especially with the massive number of joystick controllers at the bottom of the home page...

I think maybe get rid of the chunky grey areas... You've got a red section on a black background - try the grey sections being black, see what that looks like?

To be honest, I aren't sure what road I'd go down with it... The page seems to dark for my liking, but I guess the customer chose the colour scheme to some degree.

[urquanmaster]

When a site seems to be going nowhere like that, it's usually a good indication that you need to scrap it and start over. I'm sure you don't like that prospect. None-the-less, I've found myself being able to create really good stuff after scrapping an original.

But, if you're intent on working with it, I'd reccomend....

-Separating the heading from the menu with either a border or something more solid than just a change of color.
-Either centering the page on the background (so the distance from the right is the same as from the left), or having it start right against the left.
-Spice up the titles a little. Try a graphic background (even if it's just a simple gradient or solid rectangle of another color). There should be something that signifies your titles which transends through the whole site.
-It also helps if objects on the site look like they're physically being held into place. When you're making something like this, consider it actually being a physical structure of sorts. For example, on "tomshardware.com", the "toms hardware + ad banner" looks like it's painted on a cover, where you can see black stuff underneath, followed by a silver bar. It looks more 3D and interesting.
-Another thing that may help it pop out is to play with colors. Make the top border a light shade of the color your using and the bottom one, a darker color. The 3D feel helps to make everything more interesting. But, just make sure you don't overdo it like I always do. It does take away from the proffesionalism.

If you want your site to look more professional, here's a few tips:

-Use a mainly white theme. It's not a sure-fire way, but it helps a lot.
-Try using thick 1-2 inch bars in your formatting. Very simple designs using bars that overlap tend to make a real professional feel. Check these sites to get a clearer picture of what I'm talking about:
-http://www.sait.ca/calendars/conedcalendar/courses.html
-http://www.td.com/
-http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
-http://www.nyc.gov/portal/index.jsp?front_door=true
-Use Very high contrast between words and the colors behind them.
-Squish your stuff a little more. If you try to spread content using thick margins and borders, it always ends up looking bad. Don't be afraid to have some blank areas.

That's about all I can think of.... and all of this stuff is strictly my opinion. So, feel free to disagree.